


aftermath.

by fandomsnthings



Series: nightmare vs. reality [2]
Category: Nightmare Time - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: F/M, Kid Fic, continuation of nightmare vs. reality, i just had inspiration randomly so here it is, this is cute i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:14:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27083227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsnthings/pseuds/fandomsnthings
Summary: NIGHTMARE TIME EPISODE 2: FOREVER AND ALWAYS AND TIME BASTARD SPOILERS!!!! Continuation of nightmare vs. reality.The next morning, Paul tries to grapple with the leftover uneasiness caused by the nightmare. His girls are right there with him.
Relationships: Paul Matthews & Emma Perkins, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Series: nightmare vs. reality [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1976620
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	aftermath.

**Author's Note:**

> I woke up this morning with the urge to write this immediately so that's what I did. 
> 
> This is really fluffy and I have no regrets. Also, it just makes me really want to release the fic I have about Eloise as a baby, so maybe I'll do that at some point after I edit it. 
> 
> I'm still reeling from last night and am very confused so this is what I'm doing to deal with my slight emotional distress. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> T/W: Mentions of nightmares, anxiety

“Daddy, you okay?” 

Paul looked up from where he had been staring at his cup of coffee. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t get last night’s nightmare out of his mind. He had had vivid nightmares before, but that one had seemed especially real, and it shook him to his core. 

He smiled weakly at his three-year-old daughter, who was trying her best to feed herself a stack of pancakes without getting completely sticky because she didn’t like being messy; she took after her father. She was looking at him with furrowed eyebrows, a small frown on her face. 

“Yeah, Ellie, I’m okay,” he said softly, leaning his head on his hand. 

“Sure?” 

“Yeah, I’m sure. I just had a bad dream last night,” he said softly, “We all have bad dreams sometimes, huh?” 

Eloise nodded, sticking her fork back into her pancakes, “It’s okay.” 

“Yeah, it’s okay. You’re doing a good job with those pancakes, Princess,” he said, surveying the lack of mess on the table and her hands. 

“Tank you, Daddy,” she mumbled, shoving another bite in her mouth. 

“We doing okay in here?” Emma asked, peeking in the dining room with a towel wrapped around her head. He had taken over ‘Ellie-Wrangling’ while she was in the shower. The little girl was almost always more hyper in the morning than at any other time of day; they couldn’t take their eyes off of her for a minute. 

“Mama, Daddy had bad dream,” Eloise said matter-of-factly. 

“Ah, yeah, I know,” Emma sighed, walking in to loosely wrap her arms around Paul’s neck from behind, “He got pretty spooked.” 

Eloise pouted, “Daddy, that sad!” 

“Ellie, don’t worry about it. Mama rubbed my back and told me everything was going to be okay like she does when you’re scared or hurt. I-I just need some distractions, I think, so I can forget about it,” he explained, a hand coming up to squeeze one of Emma’s that was resting on his chest. 

Eloise laid her fork down on her plate of demolished pancakes before hopping down off of her chair and climbing up onto Paul’s lap, nestling herself into his torso, “Cuddles?” 

He smiled, leaning down to press a kiss to her hair, and wrapped his free arm around her little body, “Yeah, cuddles sound like a good distraction.” 

He felt warmth spread throughout his chest as Eloise moved even closer to him, wrapping both of her arms around his. She was the most emotionally intuitive child he had ever met. She always knew just what to do to make him feel better. 

“Shall we move this cuddle party to the couch?” Emma asked after a few moments, placing her chin on top of his head. 

Paul nodded, waiting for Emma to move so he could stand up with Eloise in his arms. 

“El, you done with your pancakes?” Emma asked, her hand hovering over the plate. 

Eloise nodded, “Yes. Cuddles now.” 

“Okay, okay. You guys go get cozy and I’ll be out there after I take care of this,” Emma said, smiling slightly at them. Paul’s face was still full of doubt and a little bit of fear, and it made her heart ache. 

He carried Eloise out into the living room and plopped down on the couch with her, covering them with a blanket that was splayed out over the back of the furniture. She quickly assumed her previous position, cuddling herself into his chest. He cradled her in one arm, smiling widely as she stared up at him with those big blue eyes and popped a thumb in her mouth. 

He was suddenly sent back to when she was a tiny baby, who practically fit into one of his hands. As she got older, she was becoming an incredible, funny, sweet, amazing person, but he couldn’t help but miss those nights where he would get up with her when she cried to let Emma sleep, and he would rock her as they walked around the apartment a few times, because all she wanted was to be held. 

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, “I love you, sweet girl. You’re the best.” 

Eloise smiled around her thumb, and he couldn’t help but kiss her head again. She was too damn precious. 

Emma came in after a few moments, sitting down next to them and covering herself with the remaining section of the blanket. Paul threw his remaining arm over her shoulders, pulling her towards him. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She murmured to him. 

He hesitated before saying, “I-I don’t know.” 

“It was just a dream, Paul. I know it probably seemed pretty real, but you’re right here, with your wife, and your daughter. You’re right here,” she said softly, squeezing his hand. 

“I-I just- Em, I like-I like, felt everything. And I was so confused, and scared.” 

“I feel like your anxiety just might have made it worse,” she said, leaning her head against his shoulder, “And it’s making the feeling stick around. And that’s okay! I just don’t like seeing you feel like this.” 

He shrugged. It was no secret that he had pretty bad anxiety that sometimes became too much for him. This all felt different, though. The pit in his stomach was like nothing he thought he’d ever experienced before. 

Maybe she was right, though. She always knew him better than he knew himself. 

He tilted his head to rest against hers, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes as he tried to ground himself in this reality. 

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before it finally registered. 

He had felt like this before, only once. Well, for one period of time. 

It was before Eloise was born, and he had been terrified that they weren’t going to have enough money to give the baby the life it deserved. He had started working overtime most nights a week, which drained him completely. That is how he felt right now. Drained completely, and confused, and scared. 

He didn’t realize it until Emma had pleaded with him to take a break because she missed him and could see how weary he had grown. She had almost always been in bed before he got home because of her own exhaustion that set in as a result of her pregnancy, working, and going to class. He had been so distant, and anxious, and she didn’t know what to do to help him. 

Maybe that’s what he needed now. A break. 

Things had gotten busy and stressful at work, as annual reports would be due soon. He had only stayed overtime once in the past week to tie up some loose ends, but, after not doing it at all for three years, it must’ve taken its toll on him.

Yeah. Maybe that was it. 

“Hey,” he murmured, “You don’t have work on Monday, right?” 

“No,” she said, “I was gonna take the little on a hike. Well, a walk on a trail in the forest that a stroller can handle.” 

“Would you mind if I joined you?” He asked, sending her a slight smile, “I think I need a three day weekend. Get my mind off of reports, y’know? I think that might’ve played into the whole… nightmare thing, maybe.” 

She returned the smile, her eyes slightly widened in surprise. He hated hiking, but had always done it with her because he knew she loved it, “Yeah, sure, if it’ll make you feel better.” 

Really, he just didn’t want to go to work, fearing that if he left these two girls in his presence, they would just disappear. He needed to hold onto them, just for a little bit longer, just to make sure they were still there and weren’t going anywhere. 

“No complaining, though. Ellie and I like hiking. Right, pumpkin?” 

“Right, Mama!” Eloise chirped, removing her thumb from her mouth, “We look at birdies, and-and flowers! You like it, Daddy, I promise.” 

“Okay, okay,” he chuckled lightly, tickling her belly until she let out a loud laugh. 

“Lub you, Daddy!” Eloise let out through giggles, before returning to her resting position flush against his body. 

“I love you too, baby girl,” he murmured, kissing her temple. 

“Lub you, Mommy,” Eloise added as an afterthought, not wanting to hurt her mother’s feelings by not telling her as well. 

“I love you too, little,” Emma said, reaching to brush some of Eloise’s still crazy bed-head hair out of her face, “Well, should we have a movie day since we’re all a little worn down?” 

“Yes! Princesses! Please?” Eloise exclaimed. 

Paul threw his head back against the back of the couch, letting out a faux groan. He really didn’t want to watch a princess movie, but he was also wrapped around his daughter’s finger, “Can’t a three-year-old appreciate a psychological thriller sometimes?” 

“I dunno what that is,” Eloise shrugged, turning to her mother, who had grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, “Princesses, Mama!” 

“Okay, okay, what one?” 

“Mmmm, Moana!” 

Paul groaned again, and Emma laughed, “What, bozo? You don’t like Moana the Wayfinder? You should’ve thought about that before you impregnated me. Should’ve thought, ‘Hm, will I be able to withstand children’s movies for years and years on end?’” 

“Well, first of all, she was not planned, even though I’m very glad we had her, and second of all, she could at least try to be into comedies!” 

“Paul, she’s three. Give her at least two years, and then she can start watching R-Rated comedies if you so wish. Until then, let the child watch the sea princess, and try to enjoy it,” Emma said, rolling her eyes jokingly, “Personally, I think this is one of the best ones.” 

“Yeah, and she watches it at least once a week.” 

“That means it’s good.” 

“I don’t think so.” 

“Mama!” Eloise, who had been sitting staring at the TV and ignoring her parents, interjected, tired of waiting, “Moana, please!?” 

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Emma laughed, queuing up the movie and watching as Paul accepted his fate as the opening lines of the movie played through the TV, “What do you want to watch after this, El?” 

“Mmm, Rapunzel!” 

“C’mon, Eloise! Can’t we watch like, Inside Out or something? Up? Something without songs?” 

The little girl thought for a minute, “Toy Story?” 

“Okay, yeah, I can get behind Toy Story.” 

“After Moana and Rapunzel, Daddy,” Eloise said resolutely. 

“Okay, okay, whatever.” 

Deep down, he really didn’t care. He just wanted to spend the day with his girls who were nestled up around him, grounding him and making him feel like he was just where he was supposed to be. Fuck that nightmare trying to screw with his sense of reality. 

So what if he had to sit through a couple of Princess musicals to do that? He’d survive. 


End file.
